


Gotta Take Care of the Other Guy

by Twentyoneangelsfalling



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Flashbacks, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 16:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18472294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twentyoneangelsfalling/pseuds/Twentyoneangelsfalling
Summary: When Bucky decides he needs to take some time to control himself and get ahold of the 'other guy', Steve brings him to Wakanda to clear his mind. But once Bucky settles in to his new life, Steve notices big differences and even gets a little jealous of Bucky's adaptation





	Gotta Take Care of the Other Guy

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a start so if I get enough feedback on it I will continue it.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Steve asks. He tightens his grip on the handle of the Quinjet as he waits for a response.

Bucky sighs. He looks out the window for a moment and then says, “Yes.”

Steve, grip still tight on the handle, looks at the trees and hills around. He sees his location, a cliff side off a hill, and accelerated the jet. Bucky shifts in his seat, clearly uneasy with the way they were going.

The jet never hit the cliff side and instead, they are flying above a hidden city in the middle of a jungle. Bucky looks around in amazement, happy to not have crashed and intrigued by the city. Steve smiles softly at his enjoyment. He turns around in his seat and looks at him. 

“I’m proud of you, Bucky.” He says. The smile that gave Bucky gave to Steve made his heart melt and he turned around before things got too mushy.

He lands the jet in front of what could only be described as a castle. The two super soldiers walk out of the jet, greeted by a man in all black attire and a bald woman in a tribal dress.

“This way,” the man says in an African accent, once they greet the two soldiers. Steve and Bucky look at each other, trying to comfort the other with silent communication but then realizing they were both nervous. The bald woman followed the man and Steve and Bucky followed her. 

“Thanks again, T’ Challa. This is really nice of you,” Steve calls out. The man glances at Steve, still walking.

“I have plans to open Wakanda to the world and for that to be successful we have to take baby steps.” The woman smiled smugly. T’Challa, pushing open doors to a high tech lab continues “Taking care of your friend here is the least we can do after the trouble I put him through.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Bucky started quickly, feeling guilty. “I would’ve done the same if I was you.”

Another woman with braids and a more modern style than the bald woman walks up to them as they stop in the middle of the lab. She smiles and says “Hello, Sergeant Barnes. Follow me.”

Steve follows farther behind them as T’Challa stays with the woman. She looks at T’Challa and tells him she’ll be back later. 

“Thank you, Okoye.” He glances at her before going to another part of the lab.

...

Steve watches as Bucky sits on an exam table, letting the woman with braids work on the stump where his arm should be. It pained Steve to see this part of him go since he had grown so used to it but he was also a little bit relieved. Steve always looked at Bucky and would be transported back to 1937, when they were just teenagers and then he would see the arm and be brought straight back to reality. That suck back into reality thing was never a good feeling.

“Okay, Sergeant Barnes, I’ll be right back,” the woman said, nodding at Bucky and then at Steve, walking away. Steve, arms crossed, walked a little closer to Bucky. He had a black covering over his stump. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” He asked again, just to make sure Bucky wasn’t uneasy. He uncrossed his arms and put his hands in his pockets.

“I can’t trust my own mind,” He chuckled very softly. “So until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing. For everybody.” He gives Steve a small smile as he gets up. Steve tries to smile back but he can’t. He felt as if he failed Bucky again.

Bucky walked towards a chamber inside a room and got inside the chamber. The woman and Steve stood by as the door was shut and he went under again. She glanced over at Steve.

“This must be very hard for you,” she says. “Watching someone you care about so much go through this.”

Steve shifts, crossing his arms. “Yeah,” he agrees. “It is hard, um-”

“Shuri,” She says, holding out her hand. Steve shakes it and smiles. “He will be in good hands, Captain Rogers. Do not worry.”

“I don’t doubt it. Thank you again for all of this, Princess,” Steve glances around. He feels he owes them so much for just accepting the offer. 

“Of course, Captain,” Shuri smiles and walks away, leaving him to see Bucky frozen in his chamber. He sighs, still not ready to see Bucky like this and walks towards where he left T’Challa to go thank him one more time.

...

One day, long after he had first been dropped off in Wakanda by Steve, Shuri lead Bucky down a hill, not far from the lab. There were a couple of huts and cows by a lake. He looked at her in confusion as they walked closer.

“This will be where you will stay for a little while.” She states and then looks at him. “I hope this is okay with you. It will be a nice place to clear your head.”

Bucky smiles and looks at his new home. “This is perfect, Princess.”

...

Bucky had been feeding the cows when Shuri came down from the hill. It had been a couple weeks since she had showed him his new living conditions. He had already grown well adjusted to his environment and had made some friends in the nearby villages. He was alone right now though.

“Sergeant Barnes,” Shuri calls. He looks up and waves. He walks towards her, wiping his hand on his clothes which had already switched from tank tops, greasy hair and leather to long tribal garments, sandals and tied up hair. “You have a message from Captain Rogers.”

“Bucky,” he says, grabbing the letter from her hand. 

“Tell Rogers we can set up video chats,” she says, rolling her eyes. “And that no one sends letters anymore.”

“Yeah, I guess we’re just a couple of old men.” Bucky tears open the letter, eyes only for Steve’s handwriting. Shuri grins and turns to go. “Thank you, Princess.”

“Of course, Sergeant Barnes.” She says, walking away. 

“It’s Bucky!” He calls after her and, after she ignores him, reads the letter. 

_Buck,_

_How are you holding up, buddy? Shuri tells me you moved from staying in the castle to the countryside. That’s amazing. We always talked about moving out to the rural areas back during the war. As much as I love the city, settling down in a quieter place would be nice. You’ve got a head start on your plan._

_I know letters are old fashioned and I could probably zap myself there or some new technology gadget thingy could get me closer to you quicker but I find this comforting. I want to see your handwriting again and feel the way it felt during the war to get your letters. I hope this feels similar to you and gives you a sense of comfort._

_I hope you’re doing well and I promise we’ll see each other soon._

_Love,_  
Steve

Bucky couldn’t help but to smile to himself. Steve cared so much and Bucky knew he didn’t deserve it. Steve was America’s poster boy, and Bucky was the complete opposite, something they wanted to forget about. And Steve still associated himself with Bucky, sacrificed so much to save him. 

Bucky feels warm inside, the letter very much reminding him of the war and tucks it away inside his garments. He looks back at the cow, who he named Entle, which means beautiful in Wakandan. Bucky had slowly been learning Wakandan to speak with the Natives and so he could trade with them and make some new friends. 

He gives Entle some more feed and then looks at the outreaching jungle that lay behind his hut. He grins. Steve would love it here. 

...

_Steve,_

_I miss you. I’m doing so great here, clearing my head and finding myself. Like all those cheesy self-care books say or whatever._

_You would love it here, Stevie. This is the countryside you’ve been looking for. Except for the super high tech forcefield guarding the city. Everyone here is so nice and I have my own little farm area going. I even have a cow whose name is Entle. I hope I can get a dog soon; one of my neighbors’ dog is having a litter in a week or so and I really want one. Never could get a dog back in Brooklyn with a cramped apartment. Remember when we rescued that cat off the street and then our landlord said we have to get rid of it so we hid it under the sink? That must’ve been when we were 21 or 22._

_I want to see you soon._

_Love,_  
Bucky

...

 

“Sergeant?” Okoye calls, walking towards his hut.

“Yes?” Bucky responds. She walks closer to the hut and seems him playing with a puppy in his doorway. He had been playing tug of war with a small frayed rope.

“You have a visitor.” She says, as Steve steps out from behind her. 

Bucky stands up. The dog nips at his feet as he walks towards Steve, giving him a big hug. 

“How are you, buddy?” He asks, still hugging Bucky. Bucky breathes in Steve’s scent of metal and cedarwood and immediately feels that warmth in him again. He hugs him a little tighter and then lets go. 

“Thank you, Okoye!” Bucky shouts as she walks away. The puppy barks at his feet and wags his tail so hard, his butt is swinging with it. Steve kneels down in the dirt to pet the dog and then looks up at Bucky. 

“What’s this guy’s name?” Steve scratched behind the puppy’s ears as he barks at Steve.

“Amandla,” Bucky says, watching as the blonde man pet Amandla. “She’s just a week old.”

“You told me you wanted a dog in your letter.” Steve comments. He stands up again, glancing around at his set up. “Sorry I didn’t respond sooner, I got caught up in… things.” He trails off, looking at the cow. “Mantel, right?”

“Entle. It means beautiful in Wakandan, which is what she is.” Bucky smiles and walks over to Entle, then stroking her back. 

“You seem really well adjusted.” Steve comments, scratching his ear while Bucky watches Steve’s uneasy moves. 

“Well, with my situation I have to adjust to places easy.” He casually pets Entle still and keeps his eyes trained on the cow. “And with this place I know I’m gonna be here for more than a week so I’ve settled in.”

Steve looks at the ground, the cow, the sky, almost searching for an answer to what Bucky says. Instead he sighs and kicks a rock. 

“Look, I just… I missed you. A lot. And I don’t want to get mushy or anything but when you told me you wanted to come here, it was… I had planned for us to settle down after all of the… you know.” He scratches his ear again, still staring at the ground. Bucky wonders where this all came from. “I was about to buy a nice house for us and try to scrap together something normal for us. You know, a dog and stuff…”

Bucky smiles softly at Steve, the warmth inside him growing. They were never mushy like this. They both had an attraction to each other but they grew up in a time where PDA, non traditional households, being homosexual, or anything outside of a nuclear family was very taboo. They couldn’t just forget that the world wasn’t ready for this feeling between them when they grew up, even though now it was a different time. Bucky didn’t want to share it either. 

“Steve, I would love that. I would love for that to happen one day.” Bucky sighs and Steve looks up, relieved but confused. “I just… I didn’t want the other guy to come out and hurt you in anyway. I’d never forgive myself for that.” He draws a shaky breath. “I want to have this with you but I just need more time.”

Steve nods like he knew this is what Bucky was going to say. Then, he scratches his ear again. 

“I’m glad you’re here, though. I want to introduce you to everybody I’ve met.” Bucky puts his hand on Steve’s shoulder and brings him close. Then, he puts his hand on the nape of his neck and plays with the little baby hairs on Steve’s neck.

It’s unbearably soft and mushy and Steve seems surprised by it and even Bucky is surprised by his own actions. Bucky then pulls away but grabs Steve’s hand, who is still shocked at this new affection Bucky is showing.

“C’mon, let me introduce you to everyone.” He beams and pulls Steve along behind him. Steve can’t do much else besides let Bucky take him to meet these people. He felt warm inside knowing Bucky wanted to show him off to everyone.


End file.
